Where's Max
by Serpentine Fire
Summary: This is my first fanfic and I'm not very good with summaries so.....please read and review
1. Default Chapter

Where's Max

By: Serpentine Fire 

Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me. ( Except for Ms. Croft but who cares.)

Dana watched with hatred in her eye as Terry and Max sat in a corner whispering. Dana was sitting at a table with Blade, Chelsea, Nelson and a few more of the cheerleaders and jocks. Over the past few months, Dana had noticed how Terry was spending more time with Max and less time with her. She even suspected that Terry was with Max when he said he was at work.

"Will you look at them?" She said as she turned to face Chelsea and Blade. Blade looked over Dana's shoulder and smiled.

"What's the matter? He's talking to his friend its not like he's making out with her." Blade took one more quick look over Dana's shoulder "You have to admit they do make a cute couple."

"He's still~ _my~_ boyfriend."

"Token boyfriend", Chelsea said under her breath but loud enough for the people at the table to hear, causing everyone at the table to turn their attention to her. 

Dana now directed her anger at Chelsea.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dana asked. Chelsea put her elbows on the table and laced her fingers under her chin. 

"You expect us to believe that you're so upset about Terry talking to Max because you think there's something between them when, in fact, _you've _gone out on several dates with Nelson and Jared. And if I'm correct, Max went out on a few dates with Jared and Terry hates Nelson. Have you told Terry and Max this information?" 

Chelsea got up from the table and left. The bell ending lunch rang. Dana looked one more time at Terry and Max who seemed not to have noticed the bell. As she stood she felt a hand touch her arm She turned to see that the hand belonged to Nelson.

"How about I walk you to class." Nelson asked. 

She smiled as she watched grab her backpack off the floor. 

"Thank you," she said Dana left the cafeteria with Nelson and immediately forgot about Terry and Max.

* * * *

Terry brought Max an unusual disk that was dropped by a Gotham police officer who was working with the Jokerz. Terry felt that any information on the disk could help him figure out why one was Gotham's finest was working with the Jokerz.

"And you're sure _it_ was a cop." Max asked. 

" The bruises on my back say it was a cop" He shifted in his chair to an even more uncomfortable position. than before. Max smiled to herself as she continued to look over the disk 

"Ok. It's an old five-and-one-forth disk. They made them back in the day. Not too popular but..."

"Can you read what's on it?"

"Of course. Come by tonight before you go on patrol."

"You're a genius."

"I know." said Max as Terry looked around the now empty lunchroom.

"Lunch is over." Terry said in surprise. Max looked around the room.

"So.... Where's the old man?" Max asked as she put the disk in her backpack.

"India," Terry replied as they got up from their seats and walked slowly down the hall.

"And what's in India?"

"He said that he needed to get out of Gotham. He hasn't had a real vacation in years."

"So does this mean you're taking Dana to Chelsea's party?" 

Terry stopped in the middle of the hall with a dumbfounded look in his face.

"Chelsea's having a party."

Max stopped walking and stood in front of Terry.

"Yes. I wouldn't go but she needed someone to help her set up and I told her I'd help."

"When is the party?"

"The day after tomorrow."

He covered his face with his hands and let out a groan.

"Lemme guess. I told Dana I'd take her."

"Right before you kissed her yesterday."

" I can't go. Wayne's coming back tonight."

"Don't worry I'll cover for you. I'll tell her your mom has to work late and that you have to watch Matty. " 

"Thanks." Terry held the door open for her as they entered the class. All eyes were on them as they took their seats. Max immediately noticed that Dana was not in her seat. Dana usually sat between her and Terry.

" Is there a logical reason why you two are late?" Their organic chemistry teacher Ms.Croft asked as she stood in front of the two.

"They were making out in the janitor's closet" A few giggles arose from the class as Max looked around. 

"Mr. Nash..... Don't start" she said as sat on her desk "Last week I told you all that since graduation is only a few weeks away that if everyone passed the final you wouldn't have to return to this class. If one person failed the bet was off. Right?" The class nodded in agreement. 

Ms Croft grabbed two papers off the desk and stood in front of Terry and Max once again. She focused on Terry who sank down in his seat. "I spoke to the principle Mr. McGinnis and he told me that if you wanted to graduate with your class then you would have to get at least a D on the final." She handed Max her test. As usual, Max had an A. Terry felt a wave of nausea come over him. He had studied day and night with Max to pass this test. Even while he was on patrol she would quiz him. Max could see how nervous Terry was because he was shaking. Ms Croft placed the test face down in front of Terry and took three steps back. "Class dismissed," she said. Terry quickly flipped the test over and smiled as he looked at his grade. Terry showed Max the red large A gracing his paper.

"Maybe Wayne will give me the night off and we can celebrate" Max shook her head at the thought.

"Take Dana out. She is your girlfriend." Terry and Max looked at the back of the class where Blade, Nelson, and Dana were still sitting. They kept looking back and forth between Terry and Max.

"I think she's pissed at me, and I haven't done anything." 

"Yet," Max said reminding him of Chelsea's party.

****

"So you'll do it?" Dana asked Nelson.

"Not a problem. Just make sure you two keep your end of the deal."

"And Chelsea.?" Blade asked. Dana smiled as she continued to look at her friend and boyfriend.

"Aside from being a thorn in my ass," Dana said, "you don't have to worry about her."

" I'll call you later Dana," Blade said as she got up and left the class.

"You're sure you want this done?" Nelson asked. Dana looked at Nelson and smiled. 

"Of course." 

Max and Terry left the empty class leaving Dana and Nelson alone.

" I don't get it. Why do you waste your time on him if you're so sure he's cheating on you?" Nelson asked

"Its like Chelsea said. He's a token." 


	2. Secrets Revealed

Ch 2 Secrets Revealed

After looking at her laptop screen for what felt like hours, Max shut the computer off and lay in her bed. She didn't mind all the hard work that went into helping Terry after all he is Batman. Who wouldn't want to help their best friend save the city every night? But she knew the best thing she needed right now was to get some rest. She was no good to Terry or Batman if she couldn't keep her eyes open. She pulled the blanket over her head just in time to hear the phone ring. She mumbled obscenities to her self as she answered the phone. 

" Tell me you you've got good news for me." Terry asked as he flew around the city.

" I got you a date. It's for next week. Give me a little more time and I'll have this disk decoded."

" So what did Dana say when you told her I couldn't take her to Chelsea's party."

" Well, she pretty much said that she's going weather you take her or not."

" I can look forward to hearing from her tonight."

" So, the old man didn't give you the night off?"

" No. But, I'm not surprised. The most he said he'd do is think about it."

" Maybe you should think about telling Dana. It would make life a lot easier." She said as she smiled to herself. 

" No. You wouldn't know if you weren't so nosey"

" I know….." A knocking at the door interrupted Max " I gotta go. Talk to you later." She hung up before Terry could answer. On the other side of the door was Chelsea. Max eyes opened wide as she stepped aside to let Chelsea in.

" I hope you don't mind that I stopped by." Chelsea said as she sat on the couch. " I got your address out the school directory."

" No it's ok. What's up?"

" I wouldn't tell you this, but, you're Terry's best friend, and since him and I don't hang out like you two but……" She ran her hands over her legs as she let out a long sigh " It's been a while ago but Dana's gone out with Nelson and Jared."

" Nelson and Jared know that Dana's dating Terry?"

" She told Jared that her and Terry were broken up for good and Nelson did care who she was. You know how he is." Max sat in the chair across from Chelsea.

" This is gonna break his heart." Chelsea stood and took a few paces towards the door.

" I know I should have let Dana be the one to tell him this, but I couldn't let that happen to Terry. The way Dana complains......she always seem to make him out as the bad guy. But, after what he did for me when I was at The Ranch, I figured it was the least I could do." Max turned around in the chair smiling. 

" I know." Max thought of the numerous times she had been saved by Batman,

" You two be careful around her. Her new best friend these days seem to be Nelson."

" We will. See you tomorrow," Chelsea let herself out as Max thought of a way to tell her best friend that his girlfriend was being unfaithful. She locked the door and the window as she laid in her bed and thought of what to do.

* * * *

It was after midnight when Nelson found himself standing in the middle of Joker Territory. He wasn't surprised when the Jokerz appeared out of the darkness and surrounded him. The Joker leader stepped into the middle of the ring that formed around Nelson. 

" You have a death, wish don't you kid?" Nelson shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket as the Joker leader walked around him.

" No……"

" I think you do. Because anybody that comes into Joker Territory after five is asking for trouble."

" I'm here on business." The joker leader stopped in front of him as Nelson pulled a cred card out of his pocket.

" What kind of business?"

" I need you to kidnap someone." Nelson handed the Joker leader the cred card who gave it to a joker girl to his right. She scanned it and laughed as she told the Joker Leader the amount.

" There's only five hundred creds here." The other jokerz began to laugh until the Joker leader put his hand up.

"If you want us to do this, it's gonna cost you more. Make it five thousand and you got a deal."

Nelson started laughing. " I could get the T's to do it for a thousand."

" Two thousand and we'll do it."

" Deal." Nelson handed the Joker leader an envelope " I'll get you your money when the job's done. Don't hurt her. Just follow the instructions inside the envelope." Nelson turned his back. As Nelson walked away, the Joker leader looked in the envelope at the picture as another joker looked on.

" I remember her." The second joker said.

" From where?" 

" Terminal wanted us follow her. Batman called her by first name. He called her Max."

" A friend of Batman's?" He said smiling at the picture " This should be fun." 


	3. Without a Trace

Ch 3 - Without a Trace

As the music from the stereo speakers blasted ,Max could feel a headache developing. She stood in a corner, trying to avoid the flashing lights Chelsea rented. In every corner of the room, there was a teenage couple making out. She giggled to herself because she felt like the only person that was there without a date and the fact that she still hadn't told Terry about Dana seeing other guys. Wayne had let Terry go early so he was able to make it to make it to the party. She could see him in the middle of the dance floor with Dana. "Slagit" she said as she marched towards Terry. She whispered in his ear that she needed to talk to him. They left the house and want to the back yard. Terry could tell by the look on Max's face that something was wrong.

" What's the matter? You look worried." They sat at the picnic table across from each other. Max couldn't stop looking at her hands.

" The other day, Chelsea told me something about Dana."

" What?"

" She's been seeing other guys." Terry couldn't help laughing. Max's jaw dropped to the ground as she watched. " Terry?"

He ran his hands along his pants as he got himself together. " That's funny."

" I'm serious, Terry."

He started to shake his head. " No way. As much hell as she gives me for not being there for her, there's no way she would do that to me."

" Ask Jared and Nelson. Or Jared at least if you don't believe me. "

" You're right ,I don't believe you. What I don't understand is, how you could make something like this up and tell me."

" I'm not making this up ,Terry." Max could feel tears forming in her eyes. She looked down at the ground hoping that Terry wouldn't notice.

" Dana's suppose to be your friend. If you knew how much Dana loves me, then you wouldn't say that. No friend of mine would." He got up from the table leaving Max feeling worse then before. She didn't notice Chelsea sit down next to her. 

" You ok?" She whispered as Max lifted her head and whipped tears from her eyes

" No. My best friend just called me a liar because his girlfriend is cheating on him." 

" He'll come to." Max shook her head slowly.

" I've never seen him so mad. Not like this anyway. Not at me. And Dana's gonna keep seeing him like nothings wrong. It's not fair. She complains about him not being there for her so she goes behind his back and dates other guys instead of having the decency to breakup with him." There was a long silence between them. 

" You like him don't you?" Chelsea asked

" What?" Chelsea began to smile

" You like ,Terry don't you"

" No……I'm hopelessly in love with him."

" You should tell him." 

Max shook her head ." No. He already thinks I'm trying to break him and Dana up."

" Max there's nothing there between them. You and him would be perfect for each other."

" Tell him that. I'm gonna go home."

" You sure?"

" Yeah. I'll order a pizza from Cheesy Dan's, take a shower, watch a few movies, and sleep. I'll be fine."

" I'll get someone to drop you off." 

" No thanks." Max said with a smile on her face. " I'll walk. I could use it." 

" Call me when you get home."

" I will."

Chelsea watched Max as she walked towards the front of the house. She sighed as she left the picnic table and went in the house.

* * * *

It was after midnight when Terry got home from Chelsea's party. The conversation he had had with Max was stuck in his head. He felt terrible about yelling at Max the way he did. He grabbed the phone off his bookcase and dialed Max's number as he sat on his bed. He let the other line ring six times before hanging up. He laid on the bed putting his arm over his eyes.

" Congratulations McGinnis, your an idiot." he said to himself out load

" I could have told you that." He took his arm away from his eyes and saw Matt standing at the edge of the bed.

" Why aren't you asleep?" Terry asked as he sat up.

" I'm not tired."

" Yeah well, mom's gonna rip you a new one if she finds out your still awake." 

" Who were you calling?" 

Terry started to become frustrated with Matt "None of your business."

" I bet it was Dana." He started making kissing noises as Terry chased him out of the room. He could hear Matt call him a dreg from the hall. Right now he felt like the biggest dreg in Gotham. He locked his bedroom door and laid in his bed thinking about what Max told him. He didn't mean to blowup at her the way he did but he couldn't help it. He wanted to apologize to her but since she wasn't answering the some, he could understand why. He'd have to do it in the morning. The weekend went by quickly for Terry. Although nothing seemed out of the ordinary, Terry still hadn't talked to Max and the longer he went without talking to her the worse he felt. It wasn't until that Monday at school that Terry knew some thing was wrong. As all the students took their seats he realized that Max wasn't there. He looked around to make sure she wasn't sitting some place else. Terry gathered his things in his book bag and went to Wayne's.

" I've been calling her apartment all weekend and today she doesn't show up for class."

" Maybe she's sick." Bruce never looked up from the computer. 

"She could have the flu and she'd show up for class." 

" Did you go by the apartment?"

" Yeap." He leaned against the giant computer and rubbed his forehead.

" She's at that apartment. She's just ignoring you. Trust me." When Bruce looks up at Terry ,he smiled. Terry left the cave and rode his bike to Max's. He knocked on the door a few times before picking the lock. It was hard to tell weather Max had been there on not. She always kept the apartment neat. Terry found her book bag on the couch with her ID handing out. He remembered watching her put it there Friday after school. He found everything the way it was when she left to help Chelsea set up that Friday. Terry called Bruce on his cell phone.

" All her stuff is still here. It looks like she hasn't been here in days." Terry began to pace back and forth.

" Was the door locked?"

" It was until I picked the lock to get in." 

" Come back here and I'll think of something." Terry hung up the phone, as he looked around one more time. 

" Where are you?" He asked the empty apartment as if to expect it to answer. He shut off the lights and left the apartment. 


	4. Gone

Ch 4- Gone

The sound of dripping water was enough to wake Max from her chloroformed induced sleep. As she sat up she put her hand on the back of her head and batted her eyes a few times to get her eyesight adjusted to the semi dark room. As she looked around she saw that the walls ware covered with Joker graffiti.

" Great. I'm in the Jokerz club house," she whispered to herself.

" Lookie here. You're awake. " She looked around the room as the voice spoke to her but didn't see anyone around. She became scared at the sound of footsteps got louder. "Don't be scared. I'm not gonna hurt you I just want to make you laugh." The sound of the other laughing was enough to annoy her. She tried to stand up but was forced back down because her wrists and ankles were tied to the chair." Escape is useless. Your gonna be here for a while." She didn't notice the joker leader making his way towards her until he was in the light. The sound of her heart racing in her ears downed out the sound of the dripping water as the joker walked around her." Somebody paid a lot of money to have you snatched." Hearing that her kidnapping was planned was enough to make Max forget about her pounding heart. She wanted to say something but for the first time in her life found that she was speechless " Maybe its because you're Batman's friend." How much did they know about? She prayed that they only knew she was friends with Batman and not who he was or where to find him. 

*****

" You're quiet tonight." Terry heard Bruce say over the com link.

" I'm thinking." Terry had been in a slightly depressed mood since he left Max's apartment. The more he thought about Max missing the more he got depressed. Especially since the last time he saw her she told him that Dana was seeing other guys. No matter how much Terry tried to deny it he knew what Max told him was true. He just didn't want to believe it.

" You're not getting any where flying around. Come back here to regroup." Terry made a sharp u-turn in the air as he headed back to the cave. After changing out of the bat suit Terry stood next to Bruce who was sitting at the computer.

" Max didn't have any enemies did she?" Terry thought for a moment before responding.

" No." 

" So maybe her disappearance has nothing to do with her but someone she knows." A light bulb went off in Terry's head.

" Me."

" You're getting good at this job McGinnis." Wayne said smiling. Terry looked at the time on his watch.

" I gotta go. I told my mom I'd be home in time to baby-sit Matt." The image of Max playing with Matt popped in to Terry's head as he left the batcave. When Terry walked through the door he saw his mother hanging up the phone.

" You're home. I was just about to call Max. I wasn't sure if you'd be here or not." She could by the look in his eyes that something was troubling him. " What's the matter?" she asked as she looked into his eyes.

" Nothing. Just a long day at the office." He forced a smile hoping it would make Mary feel better.

" Very funny. Dinners in the oven I'll be home late." She kissed him on the cheek as she left the apartment. Matt came out of his room and stood next to Terry who was looking in the oven at dinner.

" What is it?" He asked Terry.

" I don't know. I think its meatloaf."

" Please don't make me eat it." Terry smiled at his little brother who seemed to be very sincere and in fear for his life. 

" Go put your coat on. Ill take you to Cheesy Dan's." Terry watched as Matt grabbed his caot off the couch.

" Can we stop by Max's? Maybe she wants to go." For a moment Terry had forgotten that Max was missing.

" She's out of town. She's visiting her mom. She told me to tell you that she'll miss you." Matt looked almost as depressed as Terry felt. " How about we order a pizza and play a vid game?" 

Matt ran to his room and got his games.

****

The ringing cell phone in Nelson's room was enough to wake him up. With his head still under his pillow he answers his phone.

" What."

" We've got some really bad news."

He sat up in bed " Who is this?"

" One of the jokers…"

" How' d you get this number?"

" She's gone."

" Who?"

" The girl. She took out three of me guys. Broke their noses."

With his jaw to the floor Nelson sat up in the bed " How did that happen?" The joker on the other line sounded as if he might cry.

" I don't know I came to check on her and she was gone."

" Okay. I'll be there in an hour. Where are you?"

" The old Gotham Warehouse downtown." Nelson hung up the phone made a call and got dressed. 

__

A/N: _Sorry for such a long wait but my classes and homework( and writers block) are taking up any free time I have._

I will try to update this story every two weeks or so. ( It probably won't happen but its nice to have a goal.)

Hope you like this chapter and as always reviews are always appreciated 


	5. Escape

Ch 5-Escape

The throbbing pain that Max felt in her hand was the result of the ropes rubbing against her wrists as she pried her hands free. She looked around her new surroundings and for some strange reason as she walked through the unfamiliar streets of Gotham she no longer felt scared. Shed lived in Gotham all her life and was use to its violence and day-to-day rigors. Gotham was the kind of place that made you tough or breaks you and since she was friends with Batman life in Gotham only got interesting. Besides a night out on the streets of Gotham could prove to be interesting.

**** 

" Forgive me for sounding shocked but when I hear that fifteen Jokerz lose one pink haired girl I find that hard to believe." For some power hungry reason Nelson enjoyed being in control. And now that he had the two prettiest girls at Hill high on his arm he felt invincible. Come to think of it the only pretty girl at Hill high that he hadn't gone on a date with was Max. He asked her once and she responded by laughing in his face and running off with Terry to tell him the joke. It always bothered Nelson that Terry (who Nelson considered the biggest dreg in Gotham) always got the pretty girls. It wasn't fair Terry breaks the law, ends up in jail, falls asleep in class, doesn't pay attention and how does society pay him? By making him the assistant to the richest man in Gotham. Nelson considers himself a good kid. His grades are good, he's handsome, and he's on the wrestling team. That should be him with the cushy job.

****

Dana stood a few feet away from Nelson listening to him scream and rant at the Jokerz for letting Max get away. She had to admit that Nelson was sexy when he was angry. A lot sexier then Terry (That's her opinion not mine). Thinking of him almost made her laugh. Who the hell did McGinnis think he was going behind her back with her friend?

She didn't blame Max entirely she knew how charming and persuasive he could be when he wanted something. Dana remembers falling under his spell and agreeing to almost anything. Her mind boggled as she thought of what Terry might be doing with Max when he called and cancelled their date. She tried not to think about Terry and Max when she was with Nelson. She found it quite amusing that while she was spending her free time and cancelled dates with Nelson, Terry was completely oblivious to that fact. On his way out the building Nelson grabbed Dana's hand. As they rode through the city Dana could see how frustrated Nelson was.

" Relax after school tomorrow we'll come back here and find her. But for now why don't you let me help you relax."

**** 

It was two in the morning and Terry found himself looking down at the quiet city that he spent so many nights patrolling and keeping safe. He couldn't stop beating his self up for letting Max disappear. He kept thinking if he'd done something different she would be at home safe instead of god knows where. Terry walked away from his window, got dressed, crept out of the apartment and rode his bike to Max's apartment. He let his self into the apartment and looked around one more time hoping there was something he missed. Terry saw a picture of Max and her sister on the wall. He took the picture form the wall and sat on the couch with. He grabbed the pillow from the far end of the couch. He saw a chain in the corner of the couch and recognized it as the chain that Hill High students wear with their ID. He thought for a minute about whose it could be. Max's was in her book bag and Terry left his at home. He grabbed the ID and was surprised to see that it belonged to Nelson. Terry knew that Max hated Nelson as much as he did and that she would never let him into her apartment. He put the ID in his pocket and went to Wayne's.

**** 

Max was pleased with herself and with the escape she'd made from the Jokerz. She'd taken up shelter on the roof of an abandoned building. She knew that since the Jokerz and probably Nelson were looking for her that her best chances of escape would be to hide at night and try to get help in the morning before school let out. As she looked out on the city she was surprised to see the sun rising behind Wayne manor. She never realized how huge Mr. Wayne's house was. Who could blame him. If she was a billionaire her house would cover Gotham City instead of being in a small apartment that she shared with her sister who was never there 99.9% of the time anyway. As much as she hated that apartment she couldn't wait to get to back to it. As she sat on the edge of the building she realized she that she could probably make it to Mr. Wayne's before school let out. She looked at her watch and saw that it was only six forty five if she left now she would make it there in no time. With any luck she wouldn't get lost on the way and even if she did all she'd have to do was climb to the roof of a tall building and find out where she want wrong. She left the abandoned building and was on her way. 

_ Sorry it took so long to update but I had a massive case of writers block . _

_Hope you enjoy this chapter_


	6. The Call

Ch 6- The Call  
  
It was the last class of the day and Terry couldn't have been more bored if he were on patrol. He had only been in class thirty minutes but he was sure that two hours had passed. The teacher was no longer in the room and half the class left out ten minutes later. With the silence in the room Terry was able to catch up on some much needed sleep. His head was down on his desk when the teacher returned.  
" Mr. McGinnis." Terry sat up with a jerk "Its twenty minutes after class so I assume this is your way of making up for all those times you were late and asleep."  
" Yes, Mam."  
" The gesture is greatly appreciated but you can go now." Terry grabbed his backpack off the floor and left the class. While he was putting his books away in his locker, his pager went off. He recognized the number as Wayne's.  
"Not now it's too early" he mumbles to his self as he made his way to the payphone. Bruce answered the phone on the third ring  
" Hello" Wayne said  
"You paged me." He said yawning  
"She's here."   
" Who?"  
" The girl"  
"Max?"  
" Yes."  
"I'm on my way." Terry hung up the phone and rushed out the building. Dana appeared form around the corner with a smile on her face. Even though Terry didn't say whom he was talking to Dana was sure it was Mr. Wayne. Now all she has to do is get Max out of harms way and get Nelson to take care of Terry.  
"Perfect." She turned and walked away  
  
*****  
It had taken Max more than two hours to walk from the abandoned building to Mr. Waynes mansion. She had gotten lost twice and four strange men tried to pick her up for sex. She pressed the buzzer outside the gates but got no answer. She climbed over the gate making sure not to hurt herself. When she was inside the fence, she was confronted by Waynes dog Ace. She put her hand under Ace's nose. Ace sniffed her hand before licking it  
"Good boy." She let herself in through the front door with Ace behind her. She called Bruce's name but didn't see him immediately. It wasn't until Ace started barking that she saw Wayne standing in the doorway of his den. She smiled at him let out a giggle and fainted.  
Sorry it's taken me so long to write the next chapter but I've been busy with school. Please forgive me but I'll do my best to put up chapter 7 soon. 


	7. Max

Ch 7- Max  
  
After arriving at Bruce's Max collapsed. Bruce carried her to the couch as Terry walked in. Terry sat next to Max. Bruce went into the kitchen and got a needle. He went back to the living room and took a sample of Max's blood. "What are you doing?" Terry asked " I'm going to the cave to run some tests. See if I can find out if she was given any drugs. You can take her to one of the guests' bedrooms upstairs." Terry picked up an unconscious Max and took her upstairs. As he placed her on the bed, she woke up. " Hi " she said " Hey. You had me worried. How'd you get here?" " I walked." " From where?" " I don't remember." Max let out a long yawn. " I'm gonna let you get some sleep ok." " Ok." As Terry left the bedroom he looked back at Max and saw that she was already asleep. He went down to the cave and stood next to Bruce who was sitting at the computer. " Find anything?" " She's got large amounts of diluted chloroform in her system." " Is that bad?" " Chloroform comes in two types diluted and solid. Sometimes doctors prescribe chloroform in pills to help people sleep. Diluted chloroform has been evolved to the point that too much of it can kill a person. Max has more than enough of this in her system to kill her." " Shouldn't she be dead by now? How was she able to make it from wherever she was to here?" " Adrenaline rush. When you're determined to do something blood rushes through your body faster then the poison." " And now that she's here? " " Her system should be returning to normal and the chloroform would be able to catch up with her blood." " It's not a good thing that she's asleep is it?" Bruce turned and looked at Terry. " The last thing you want her to do is sleep." Terry ran upstairs and got Max out of bed. He threw one of her arms around her neck and put his arm around her waist. Max let out a low moan. " I wanna go to sleep." " You can't. You might not wake up." " Where are you taking me? " " To the basement. You're always saying that you wanna see the bat cave right?" " Yes." Terry took Max to the cave and took his place next to Bruce while he continued to hold up Max. " How long will it take for the chloroform to take effect?" Bruce took a long look at Max and into her eyes " It's already taken effect. That's why she's so tired." Terry let out a slight laugh as he looked at Max. " Will it were off.?" he asked with concern in his voice. " In about six it should have run its course through her body. By then she'll be wide awake." " See you in six hours." Terry took Max for a walk around town for what felt like forever. They walked through the park, went passed the apartment Terry used to share with his father before he was killed, they even walked through the halls of Hill High. Hamilton Hill had a wrestling match at the school tonight so most of the doors were unlocked. They sat on the floor in front of their lockers. " I know you're probably tired. I am and I figure it wont hurt to take a five minute break." " I don't mind." For the first time in three hours Max spoke. Her voice was raspy and weak but it was good to hear her say something besides how tired she was. " Besides I kind of like listening to you talk." " How you feel?" he asked with a slight smile on his face. " A hell of a lot better then I did a while ago. I'm still a little tired but its nothing I can't survive." Somewhere deep down Terry knew that Max was going to pull through. For as long as he'd known her she was never one to give up without a fight. Even then she was still a fighter. " So now that I've told you every personal aspect of my life possible why don't you tell me something." " Well. My father left me, my sister and my mother when I was younger. I think was about Matt's age." " Do you ever see him?" " Not really. You're lucky. You and your dad were close. I hardly ever speak to mine." At that moment a group of Hill high students came down the hall singing and bumping into lockers. " We must be winning." Terry said. Max noticed that one of the lockers at the end of the hall was slightly open. She got up and walked toward the locker with Terry close behind her " What's the matter?" he asked " Nothing. Our cheerful classmates must have knocked open this locker." Terry recognized the number on the locker. " This is Nelson's locker." Max opened the locker completely. They were both kind of surprised at how junky Nelson's locker was. " I've always pictured him as kind of a neat freak." Terry said making Max laugh " He'll always be a pig to me." She picked up Nelson's vid screen. You think we'll find anything on this." She asked " If we're lucky." They went into one of the empty classrooms. Terry watched Max as she went through deleted files and scanned through old e- mails. " Find anything? " He asked with a hint of excitement in his voice. " Nothing yet but don't worry if there's something here I'll find it. Tell me some more about your personal life." He laughed to himself. " You know everything." " There's gotta be something I don't know. How's your sex life?" Terry was surprised by the boldness of Max's question but he was never one to shy away from sharing the details of his private life especially when he was sharing them with his best friend. He leaned back in his seat running his fingers his fingers through his hair and folding his arms. Watching him do this reminded Max of the reason she was harboring a secret love for him. " That part of my life is nonexistent. Me and Dana tried a couple of times but it seemed like her father knew when to come home. We couldn't go to the apartment because my mom and brother were always there. Seems like it wasn't meant to be." " Maybe it wasn't." She glanced up from the computer and saw Terry looking at her " What about you. How's your sex life?" " Same as yours. I just haven't found the right person. The few guys I dated wanted to but I didn't like them well enough to do so let alone give them a second or third dates." Max smiled as she looked at Terry and back at the computer. " I found something!" Terry moved next to Max " What is it?" " Nelson got a ton of e-mails from someone named Starfish." " Can you read them?" She looked at Terry smiling " Of course." With a few key strokes Max had every e-mail and instant message ever exchanged between Nelson and Starfish. " Can you send all of these to my computer?" Max closed the top on the computer. " Already done" Terry took the computer back to Nelson's locker before the wrestling match ended. He took Max to her apartment to get some clean clothes and back to Wayne's. " Ok Bruce said you could stay for a few days if that's ok with you." She nodded her head a few times. "When you feel better Bruce wants you to come to the cave so he can run some tests on you." I don't know how to get down there." " Open the grandfather clock, move the pendulum to the left and the back of the clock open." " Ok." " Alright." " I'll see you In the morning." " See you later." She watched Terry disappear into the clock. She let out a long sigh as she put her hands on the back of her neck. " Goodnight Terry McGinnis." 


	8. Safe

Ch 8- Safe

Nelson laid in the middle of the bed with Dana who was wide-awake on his left and a sleeping Blade to his right. Dana was sitting on her legs looking a Nelson with a frustrated look on her face.

" Look it was a great idea but she got away. Just leave it alone." Nelson sat up in bed and ran his hands over his face.

" I'm going out for a spin." Nelson jumped out of the bed and threw on some clothes, left his house and went ripping through the streets of Gotham.

**** 

" It's late McGinnis. Call it a night."

" Once more time around the city then I'll head in."

" I thought you'd want to spend more time with Max."

" It's two in the morning she's probably asleep."

"Ace would know better then I would. He's taken a liking to her. He's upstairs with her now." Batman laughed at the thought of Ace sleeping at the foot of the bed

" I'll be in soon."

****

Dana had a point of leaving the whole Max situation alone but it was the fact that he hadn't succeeded at recapturing Max after she escaped. He knew she was with Terry but had no reason to come in contact with him. He figured he wouldn't let him bother he was after all sleeping with the guy's girlfriend. Nelson was stopped at a stoplight not paying much attention to his surroundings. He lifted his head and saw Batman in a half stand on the hood of his car. Batman tilted his head to the left and grinned. He grabbed Nelson by his shirt and took him to the roof of a fifty-story building. He dangled Nelson over the edge of the building.

" You're the first in my Catch and Release program. The way it works is you tell me what I want to know and I'll put you back in your car. Don't cooperate I drop you from this building and catch you before you hit the ground. Get it?" Nelson nodded his head rapidly "Good. Why kidnap Max?"

" I don't know. I was just told to hire the Jokerz or the T's to keep her."

" How'd your ID get in her apartment?" Nelson looked at the ground and tightened his grip around Batman's wrist 

" She pulled it off my neck when we were fighting."

" Who told you to kidnap Max?"

" Dana Tan." For a moment Batman forgot he was holding Nelson and almost dropped him. He took Nelson to his car as promised and flew away. Batman cut his night short and went back to the cave. Terry couldn't believe that his girlfriend planned the kidnapping of his best friend. He went to the room Max was staying in and stood in the doorway. Max looked at him for a moment before saying anything. He sat on the bed next to her.

" Nelson told me that Dana was the one who had you kidnapped."

" Yeah I know." Max brought up some e-mail while Terry looked at. " After I found out that Starfish was Dana Bruce let me use the computer in the cave to hack into Dana's computer. She's been planning this over a week. You want to know why?"

" Yeah."

" She was under the impression that we were dating behind her back. According to an e-mail she sent Blade she was trying to save me from you good looks and charms that will eventually cause me pain." Max looked at Terry who was reading the e-mail.

" Her intentions were good" he said "but she went about it wrong. Am I that bad of a boyfriend?"

" To those who don't know what you do I'd say yes." The looked at each other smiling " You never told her what you really do and it had to be frustrating for her when you cancel or leave in the middle of a date."

" So now what." 

" Nothing. We go to sleep and forget this ever happened. We can't tell the police because half of what we did was illegal and you were Batman when Nelson confessed. So we do nothing."

" It's probably for the best."

" I look at it this way. I was in no real danger because my protector saved me." He smiled a crooked smile at Max before kissing her on the forehead. He made his way toward the door before stopping and turning to her.

" Hypothetical question. If we were dating and I did what I did to Dana to you would you consider me a bad boyfriend?"

" No but I have an advantage over Dana. I know what you do when you're gone. Are you going home?"

" It's been a long week and I need to get some well-deserved rest as well as you. Goodnight." Terry closed the door as he left. The thought that his girlfirend who was soon to be his ex could master mined the kidnapping of his bestfriend. He thought for a moment that Nelson was lying but who would when they were being dangled from a twenty-story building. As he walked the long narrow halls of Wayne manor he became even more frustated at the thought that the only thing he would be able to do was breakup with her. For a moment he thought of going to the police be that would put him at risk of being exposed as Batman and he couldnt tell Comminisher Gordan for that same reason. He did find comfort in knowing that Max was safe sound. Terry hopped on his bike letting out a slight sight and drove home. 

The End

****

I'm sorry its taken me forever to finish this story buy things kept getting in the way like work and school. I hope you can forgive me and I promise my next story won't take forever to finish. Thanks and I hope you enjoyed reading my story. 


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